Death Waker
by Wolf-Sister16
Summary: Set after Ghost Hunter, Torak and Renn face new adventures and new perils. What would you risk to bring back your loved ones?   Rated K , may go up later.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been almost two moons since Torak, Renn, the ravens and the wolves left the Raven Clan to be at peace in the forest. So far, everything is going all right, but things are soon about to change when the power of the loved and the lost overwhelm them. Are your friends your enemies? Or perhaps the other way around? Read on, and find out...**

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**Chapter 1: Renn's Dream**

_Torak held his staff high above his head, looking into the sky. He showed no sign of stopping, or changing; this was it, this was who he had become. Renn called to him desperately, trying to break the spell. "Torak!" she shouted. "Torak, please! Don't listen to it!" Torak glanced down at the open wood-chest, at the streaming light repeating his name. "Torak... This it your destiny..." the light echoed. "Come, it is your time to rule..." Torak's eyes were glazed with red, as the light swirled around him and he felt the power grow inside of him. "I shall rule the living... I shall rule the dead... I shall rule the Sea, The Mountains, The North Wind __and the Forest! I am the Death Waker..." he chanted._

Renn squealed and sat up, shaking. The fire was nothing but ashes, and Torak, Darkfur, Pebble and Wolf slept calmly around the shelter. "Just a dream," she whispered to herself. But she was no longer peaceful alone, so she wriggled out of her sleeping-sack and gave Torak a gentle nudge. Torak groaned, rolling over. "It's not light yet, Renn..." he muttered. Renn shook him again, blowing on his neck gently. That would wake him if nothing else did. Torak's mouth curved into a smile, and he snapped open his eyes. "What is it, Renn?" he asked, sitting up and looking around the shelter blearily. Renn hesitated. She wanted to tell Torak about the dream; she wanted to cry and shout all her fears to him, but she couldn't. Something in the way her mind repeated the ghastly images told her to wait. Until when, though? she asked herself.

Renn forced a small smile. "I was...um...cold." she said. That would probably cover up why she had woken him; it was nearing Midwinter. She knew this because she was anticipating it greatly. On Midwinter, she would be seventeen winters old, and finally a woman. Torak looked at her blankly. "Well, put your parka on." he said. Renn looked at her pile of gear, and on top of it laid her seal-hide parka that one of the Seal Clan women had made for her on a trip to the Islands a few weeks ago. She scratched her arm wearily and went to get it, picking it up and smoothly slipping it over her head. It warmed her instantly - but was too bulky to wear in her sleeping-sack. When she explained this to Torak, he sighed and got out of his sleeping-sack, going over to the pile of gear and getting his knife from his belt.

Renn glanced at Torak, startled, as he began to cut smoothly down the side of his sleeping-sack, before putting it down and doing the same for Renn's. "What are you doing?" she asked. He ignored her, went to his medicine-pouch, got out a roll of sinew thread and a small needle, and sewed the ends of the sacks together, creating one large sleeping-sack. Once finished, he put his tools away and stood triumphantly with his arms folded. "There," he said. "Now we have one sleeping-sack to share, so we can keep each other warm, and we can use the left over hide I cut off for clothes and shelter material." Renn blinked, but nodded in acceptance and took her parka off, laying it with the rest of the gear and getting into the sleeping-sack. Torak wriggled in beside her, awkwardly slipping his arms around her and pulling her closer. Renn jolted, and thanked the Spirit it was dark so Torak couldn't see her blushing fiercely. He sensed the tension between them and said with more relaxation than he felt, "Hugging keeps you warm. The Seals told me that their guardians are always huddling to keep from the cold. Penguins do it too." Renn relaxed into his arms, too tired to argue. Not that she actually wanted to. Soon, she found herself wrapping her arms around Torak, forgetting her dream, forgetting her worries, just losing herself as she huddled into his warm body.

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Wolf woke shortly after Tall Tailless and the pack-sister. He was confused as the air hung with many scents - Darkfur and Pebble, the taillesses, the ravens - but he could sense something else. It was coming from the female. Sharp, wholesome fear, and Badness. Wolf twitched and longed to ask Tall Tailless what was wrong, but he hung back, closing his eyes slightly so that the taillesses didn't see that he was awake. He heard them give confused, awkward grunt-whines in tailless talk, before he saw Tall Tailless cutting the hide blankets they used to sleep in and tying them together. He watched as Tall Tailess huddled in the blanket with the female, and his ears pricked up. A wonderful scent swirled around the shelter, and Wolf forgot the Bad smell, recognising the new scent immediately. It was the same scent that he smelt three winters ago when he played with the cubs in the Mountain Pack. It was the same scent he smelt every time he nuzzle-licked Tall Tailless. It was the same scent he smelt around Pebble and Darkfur - but it wasn't coming from him. It was coming from Tall Tailless and the female; the joyful, dreamy scent of love.

Giving a wolfy grin, Wolf snuggled deeper beside Darkfur and his cub. He was very happy for his pack-brother. He had finally become a full grown tailless, and found a mate.

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**Fluffy enough for you, readers? XD**

**I hope you enjoyed reading the brief first chapter of this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it. I finally managed to finish reading this series, so I got straight on to writing this up, and I will have another chapter up soon. I'd really love some reviews, guys! *hint* ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, yay. Here it is, Chapter 2 of Death Waker. You've all been waiting for it, I know...XD**

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**Dark ran, chest heaving, cobweb-white hair flying, as fast as he could from the clan burial-ground. He had sensed something and had gone to investigate, and had had a vision so startling that he was shaking. It couldn't be right - could it?

"Fin-Kedinn!" he called. "_Fin-Kedinn!_" he ran to the camp, stopping by a group of men making arrows around a fire. He put his hands on his knees and bent over, panting furiously. "Where's Fin-Kedinn?" he asked. One of the men shot him a wary glance. "On the other side of camp. Why?" Dark stood back up, letting the air fill his lungs. "It is to be found..." was all he could say, his mind and heart racing. The other men looked at him with curiousity, but figured that everything would become clear. After all, Dark was the Mage, and a good one at that.

Fin-Kedinn sat around another fire at the other side of camp, as the workmen said. It was almost two moons since his niece and foster son left to live their own lives in the Forest, and he missed them terribly. When Dark reached him, he was thinking, as he did a lot. There was a flint and a hammer at his side, so it appeared that he was making something, and had either finished or decided not to carry on. This was normal; his hands were becoming slower and weary, and he rarely finished making tools. He looked up when Dark approached, sensing his fright immediately and lifting his left hand from his lap, patting a rock next to him to indicate that he wanted Dark to take a seat.

Dark sat down next to the Raven Leader, trying not to shake. "What is the matter, Mage?" Fin-Kedinn asked him. "I had a vision," said Dark, his grey eyes darting as he looked around the camp. He lowered his voice. "The Sanduku...it is to be found..." Dark began trembling again. Fin-Kedinn put his hands back in his lap and clutched his knees. "Surely this is not true? The Sanduku exists, but is a legend. And it was destroyed with the last one who used it, was it not?" the Mage shook his head slowly. "The clans were led to believe that, to stop anyone trying to find it again. The..." he swallowed as he said the name, "The Soul-Eaters didn't even know about it. The worst thing is, I saw the people who discovered it. They are...dear to us."

Fin-Kedinn put his head in his hands. "No. No, no no..." he repeated. Dark didn't even need to name who he saw. They both knew.

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Renn woke to the sounds of Torak rustling around the shelter, finding kindling to wake a fire. "Good morning to you," he said in his low, soft voice that made Renn's heart jump. Renn rubbed the drowsiness from her eyes and stepped out of her sleeping-sack, shivering with the sudden change in temperature. Torak was sat by the now-woken fire, warming himself and feeding Rip and Rek pieces of dried reindeer meat, left over from what the Mountain Clans had given them. Renn walked over to Torak and sat next to him, taking some meat from beside him and chewing it slowly.

"So, when do you want to start out?" Torak said, smiling. Renn looked up. "Start out where?" she asked. They had been staying in the same spot for about three days, and Renn didn't know Torak had plans of moving on. His smile widened. "I thought we'd make a move back downriver, to the Raven camp. For your birthnight." Renn gasped. "You'd really do that for me?" Torak stood up, snuffed the fire, stuck the last piece of meat in his mouth and laughed. "Oh, Renn, I'd do anything for you."

They set off as the morning mist was thick, so the wolves and ravens had to lead the way as Torak and Renn could hardly see three paces in front of themselves. There was a slight frost, and at one point Renn slipped on a patch of ice and fell - quite awkwardly - into Torak's arms. They had both laughed through their blushes. The day seemed to run away at a quicker pace than Wolf at full speed, and soon they could see the fog-rimmed sun set. "We need to find somewhere to stay overnight." observed Torak, licking his finger and holding it up to check the direction of the wind. Wolf barked ahead of him. _Den space, here! _Torak clambered through brittle, dead leaves and found wolf standing in an open space to the left side of the Redwater. He found Wolf and they touched noses. _Thank you, pack-brother. _said Torak.

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Wolf found the den space about ten paces away from a Fast Wet. He thought it was quite suitable, but his nose kept telling him of a new scent that made him uneasy. Oh well, he thought. Tall Tailless will know what to do.

The ravens swooped and dived around his cub, squawking, asking him to play. Darkfur raised her nose and nudged Pebble. _Go on, then. But beware of the Fast Wet, little one. _Wolf sniffed the crispy air and raced off, keen to play with his son. Darkfur barked behind him:_ You are just like a cub sometimes! _before chasing after him and licking his nose.

Wolf and his family chased after the ravens, as they dipped and soared in the misty lowering sunlight. They rolled around in the already frosted grass, smelling the sweet scents that winter brought to their noses. After a while, they came to a rock, stuck awkwardly in a patch of grass. The smell of lichen told Wolf that it was old, and the scent he had smelt earlier caught up with him. It smelt of wood, and tailless, and Breath-That-Walks, but Wolf couldn't understand why. Darkfur came up to him. _New smell, _she said keenly. _Many differences. _Wolf nuzzled her ear, and told her that he was telling Tall Tailless of it, before racing back to the den space.

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Torak and Renn had made a good camp in the spot by the river. It was rich with winter berries, and there were many trees, so they had no problem building a large and strong shelter. They had just heaved all their gear inside and Renn had begun preparing nightmeal when Wolf came racing in, hackles raised, ears up. _New smell! _he barked to Torak. _Tailless! Breath-That-Walks! Big Wet! _he thumped his tail on the floor, and Torak stood up. "What is it?" asked Renn. "He says that he has smelt something. He says it smells old, like ghosts and humans." Without command, Renn stood up too, and they followed Wolf out to where Pebble chased Rip and Rek around, oblivious, and Darkfur stood uneasily by the rock.

Renn observed the lichen, and said with a shrug, "Maybe it's just the lichen; that has a pretty strong smell." Torak peered at it, narrowing his eyes. "It's definately something more. Look. There's a slight glow under there," he said, pointing to a gap where a red light streamed. Renn looked closer, and felt her heart being drawn towards it. She lifted part of the damp stone to reveal a box, wooden and old, from where the red light was coming from.

They both stared, before grabbing the small box and pulling, lifting it from under the rock and throwing it onto the grass. The wolves began to bark. "What is _that?_" Torak gasped in awe. Renn put her hand on her forehead, taking in a breath. "It reminds me of something," she said, obviously thinking hard. "But I can't remember what it is. Maybe we should take it." Torak looked at her sternly. "This is probably sacred to someone. We'll take it back to our camp, but no further than that. And we should probably stay too until I'm certain that it's safe." Although Torak said this, his heart sank at the possibility of missing a visit to the Raven Clan, and his head whirled with the mysterious light. Something tugged at him, deep inside, something he knew nothing about, but something he was aching to discover.

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**So, the plot thickens...**

**For any of you wanting to know, "Sanduku" is Swahili for "box". Not very original, I know, but as I love Africa, and Swahili is a tribal sort of language, I thought adding some in might help with some better names.**

**Updates for my other stories are coming soon, sorry that this one took a whole week! XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm getting better at quick updates! :) Anyway...**

**A lost legend is awakening at the Raven camp, and Renn and Torak are delving into the unknown with the discovery of a wooden box with more secrets than anyone could ever expect. It's Death Waker, part three! Enjoy, readers.**

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**It was dark, and as Rip, Rek and the wolves headed out into the night to hunt, Renn slept peacefully beside Torak in their shelter. Renn had grown accustomed to the new sleeping arrangements, and was lying with her head against Torak's chest, smiling in her slumber. Torak couldn't sleep himself - but he decided that he was in a pretty nice position for it. He couldn't help but smile at Renn and stroke his left hand through her hair. He paused to gaze at her, thinking over how utterly beautiful she was. No wonder Bale, his deceased kinsman, had wanted her to stay with him. He sighed, and his heart sank. Thinking of Bale hurt.

It wasn't Renn that had influenced Torak's insomnia - in fact, if he hadn't been thinking about what was troubling him, he would have quite happily snuggled up with his companion and fallen asleep next to her. What was troubling him was what Wolf had discovered the evening before; an old, wooden box that seemed to draw him in. Renn had placed the box at a secluded corner of the shelter and ordered Torak with some force to go nowhere near it. He had listened to her that night, yes, but now, he felt even more intrigued by what he didn't know. Placing a small kiss on Renn's cheek, he slid out of his sleeping-sack and crept to the box. As soon as he approached, a red light seemed to stream from it.

Torak crouched in front of the box and inspected it carefully. There was mould and lichen growing on the outside, swamping it in green and yellow patches, and what looked like a flint handle was chipped and eroded. Opening it now could be dangerous - he had no idea what it could unleash - especially when it gave him such strange feelings...but a tugging feeling pulled at him once again, and he flinched before opening the box and peering inside.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Lights of the past flashed before him; his birth, his wolf mother's sweet voice and sweeter milk, the first Clan Meet by the sea, descending into Fa's death, finding Wolf, and the Ravens, and the Seals and Mountain Clans, defeating the demon bear, the trek across land, ice and water to vanquish the Soul-Eaters, defeating Tenris, Nef, Seshru, Thiazzi and Eostra in turn, before finding out about the Walker and his parents, and making that final painful decision to leave the Raven Clan - and the happiness of taking Renn with him.

Then, the lights changed to form images of the present. Torak saw the journey to where they were camping, then setting up the shelter before having Renn wrap his finger in a leaf when he cut it - rather foolishly - on his knife, discovering the box, eating nightmeal, and watching Renn sleep peacefully. By this time, Torak was staring at himself, staring into the box, with a cascade of lights around him as if they symbolised his mixed thoughts. This lingered for a while, before he saw the lights finally change into the future. Although he did see the future, it didn't seem like it at first. This was because he saw the passed souls of Bale, his parents (although he had never seen his mother properly, somehow he recognised her immediately), Wolf's cubs and Renn's brother Hord, all standing in front of a young man, all seemingly alive. Torak couldn't see who the young man was, as only his back was shown, but he was wearing tattered, blood-stained clothes and didn't look particularly nice. After a few seconds, the lights changed.

Torak saw the wolves, Pebble trembling behind his father while Wolf and Darkfur barked and growled at something ahead. They looked different to how Torak had ever seen them before, so angry, so confused, and so determined. Then, he saw the image that shocked him the most. He saw Renn in a waterfall, body glittering, red hair cascading down her shoulders. She looked more beautiful than ever - but she had her eyes closed and her arms tightly wrapped around someone. Again, Torak couldn't see who it was, but he knew that it was a man, because they were close, intensly locked in a passionate kiss. Torak's heart broke. "No." he whispered, before closing the box tightly.

But it wasn't over, as a small light streamed from the shut box and out, growing at the side of the shelter, twisting and forming into someone Torak knew very, very well.

"Good evening, kinsman," said Bale.

Torak stumbled backwards, and collapsed.

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**I got chills just writing that. Freaky stuff. **

**Sorry for another short-ish chapter, but I think I summed up all I wanted to there. Just leaves you in suspense really...**

** I also had to bring Bale back for you, readers. He has a very important part in this story, as you will learn. (I also kinda missed him. XD) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is my late Christmas/New Year gift to you, another chapter of Death Waker. Sorry I haven't been writing - I've had a nasty head cold and it's been busy here... (I mean, hasn't it been busy everywhere?) Also, any additional names I used some more Swahili for (rubbish tactic, but oh well). I'll explain what they mean at the end.**

**The return of a kinsman proved too much for Torak, but it's now Bale's time to explain what power he really has. Meanwhile, at the Raven camp, another revelation for Dark proves his suspicions...**

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**"Ugh..." Torak gave a loud groan. His head was thumping and his mind was trying desperately to recollect whatever it could of what caused him to fall into such a sudden unconciousness. Then he saw Bale, standing with his hands on his hips at the entrance of the shelter with a broad grin on his face, and everything came flooding back. "I think I gave you more of a shock than I intended to," said Bale, chuckling and moving to sit calmly beside Torak, who was sprawled face-first on the floor at an awkward angle. He turned and sat up, before edging away from his kinsman uneasily.

"But...you're dead. You've been dead for almost three moons now." he said, casting a glance around to see if there were any other apparitions lurking in the shadows.

"I was, but I have been found. My souls have pieced my body back together." Torak thought this was impossible, but he saw it; where Bale's body had been damaged from the fall and the supposed battle with Thiazzi, it was completely healed, and he looked healthier than he ever had before. "You have no idea what you have unleashed, Torak." Bale said, looking with meaning into his eyes. "You have found the long-lost Sanduku. You have more power over the Wandering Spirits than any living man." Torak's eyes widened. He thought back, thought back to when he was ten summers old, and Fa was explaining one legend that had stayed in his mind for a long time.

_"The Sanduku," he explained, "gives one man the power to rule any creature that has not get completed the Death Journey. Nobody knows how long the journey takes, sometimes a moon, sometimes a summer, sometimes ten of both. It varies between spirits. There have been three holders of the Sanduku before: Jasiri, from the Otter Clan, about three hundred summers ago, Ainamoyo, Red Deer Clan, about one hundred, and Kuaminika, Ptarmigan Clan, fifty summers ago. The ill that overwhelmed them was eventually fought away, but the first two died in the healing rite, and the third disappeared the night after, and was also found dead in the morning." The younger Torak had shuddered, but grinned, as many young boys enjoy hearing of gruesome legends. "Why was the Sanduku so bad, Fa?" he asked, staring into the fire, watching the flames as if they almost formed into spellbinding images. "Once in total control of the Sanduku, you can become possessed. It can turn your souls around to rot in evil thoughts, as you feel like you could own the world. And you do, you want it more than anything. And, unfortunately, the evil thoughts make you go to any lengths to get it, just to be king, ruler of this very world. It never works, my son. Nobody can ever have anything, because the World Spirit owns all. The worst thing is, all the Mages predicted one more. One more holder of the Sanduku in times to come. Never forget that..."_

Torak blinked back into reality. "It's me. I am the fourth holder of the Sanduku?" Bale gave a solemn nod. "I know what you're thinking," he then said, sitting up further. "I won't let any of that come true, Bale. But one thing: wasn't the Sanduku destroyed?" Bale shook his head, and explained exactly what Dark had to Fin-Kedinn - how the secret of its existance had been hidden to save it. "Save it until now," said Torak. He wrung his hands and gave a sarcastic laugh. "Hah. But all the bad luck is drawn to me, yet again." Bale put one arm around him, and gave a reassuring smile. "It's not all bad, Torak. With this power you can bring people back. You can change everything - past, present, future, all for the better. You see," he opened the Sanduku, and lights swirled into Thiazzi, on the mountain, and Bale, clinging on with one hand. "I didn't die. The past has changed, look." Torak saw two figures at the bottom of the cliff, holding a large hide between them. Detlan and Asrif! Torak gasped. "They saved you?" Bale nodded, and the lights showed Bale letting go, and falling. He fell into the hide, and was tended to immediately, while Detlan cracked an elk skull on the rocks to make Thiazzi think he had accomplished his deed. "And all that was changed? Just because I took one look in the Sanduku?"

Bale looked across the room. "This is why you have to hide me, Torak. If I am known in the open, if the Clans know of my survival, everything will change, past, present and future according to time-"

Torak finished for him. "-if you hadn't died. If I hadn't gone seeking vengeance for your death, and if the Soul-Eaters were never vanquished." Bale nodded once again. "Only you and your companions must know of this, or the world will be under the control of the Soul-Eaters. Beware, Torak. If you are not careful, they will return, and nobody will save us this time."

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Dark and Fin-Kedinn sat around the main fire at the Raven camp, with one thing in common. Both of their hearts were beating pretty fast.

"It has happened, Leader," said Dark, spreading his hands in front of the fire uneasily. "They've found it, and used it once. A wandering spirit has been replenished, and the past has been altered." Fin-Kedinn stroked his beard with sheer anxiety. If this was all going to happen as it happened before, whoever had found the Sanduku would use it one too many times, ill thoughts would overcome them, and they would suffer an untimely death. Or if they succeeded, they could use the Wandering Spirits to take over the world in its entirety. "They are sensible, though, Mage," he said, not showing his worry to Dark. "They have heard of this legend themselves, and will be careful."

The Raven Mage looked at Fin-Kedinn, trying to make sense out of what he felt and what he knew. "But you know yourself that the others that used it became evil not on their own accord. It was power, and it drove them into greed. We will have to trust. And also, things may be shaken up a little, if they are to use it again. Wandering Spirits will return, and the past, present and future could be changed. This is why the Clans need faith, Fin-Kedinn. Because your foster son could cease to be the hero, and cause the downfall of everyone."

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**Dun dun duuun! Thank goodness I've finished... **

**Okay, I've been stressing over this chapter quite a lot. There is a big logical problem that has made me force Bale into hiding, as you can probably tell. Because if Bale had never died, Oath Breaker would have had no plot, and Thiazzi would have supposedly never been vanquished. I do understand that Torak would have probably gone after him at a later date, but we can't be sure of this as it is only one event that has differed. But, it does give the plot a bit of a thicker edge. It just puts all my logical writing and thinking skills to the test in an extreme way!**

**However, if you think there is something wrong with it, do let me know, I won't mind at all. I'm trying to get this perfect...**

**Names! The three Swahili names mentioned are Jasiri, which means brave, Ainamoyo, (where I had joined the two words "aina" and "moyo") which means kind heart, and Kuaminika, which means trustworthy or reliable. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, will update soon!**


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